This SM 280 V8 is also in the preservation scene.
michel:
This SM 280 V8 is also in the preservation scene.
Still looks like a “Worker” 
I like them like this rather than pristine better than when it left the factory restorations.
Steve
Quick rethink on that SM280, …probably Exhaust brake “butterfly” stuck halfway.
Davidof, once had a Norwegian gentleman come to try to buy a Daimler SP250 Dart that I had. When he arrived at Birmingham Airport, I knew that he would just not fit in the car…he was about your hight, so it went to a very nice Antique Dealer living in Levallois Perret!!
Steve, I agree with you, far better to see a “working” restoration.
Back to the fields…
Cheeerio for now.
Saviem:
Quick rethink on that SM280, …probably Exhaust brake “butterfly” stuck halfway.Davidof, once had a Norwegian gentleman come to try to buy a Daimler SP250 Dart that I had. When he arrived at Birmingham Airport, I knew that he would just not fit in the car…he was about your hight, so it went to a very nice Antique Dealer living in Levallois Perret!!
Steve, I agree with you, far better to see a “working” restoration.
Back to the fields…
Cheeerio for now.
“In their working clothes” i think is the expression
Steve
neversweat1:
You should have taken the seat out and sat on the bunk Davidoff
Steve
Steve, this would be much the same as locking up an ape inside a Morris Mini. I am already not an ambassador of grace or elegance, let’s not make matters worse
neversweat1:
10
Your collection is amazing.
neversweat1:
0Steve
Those letterbox bunks, they populated France’s roads well into the nineties. For those of you occasionally driving down the A20 autoroute, and if you happen to pass Brive-la-Gaillarde, about halfway down this very long steep downward slope just before Brive, there is a yellow and blue one parked up in a yard about 100 meters off the road. I think it is a G 260, and seems in decent condition. It is no more than 400 meters or so past the speedtrap, so easy to find directions
neversweat1:
michel:
This SM 280 V8 is also in the preservation scene.
Still looks like a “Worker”
Steve
I agree with you Steve, very much so.
In Interlaken Truckfest, there were a few vehicles that indeed looked better than new. I am quite sure that if they had taken to the road again on a working basis, they would again have done a million kms, or more. They were litterally stripped down to the last bolt and redone in full.
When we arrived at the show, they were parked up next to me. Upon arrival, they took on polishing the ENTIRE vehicle again, i.e. lorry + trailor.
They said, aren’t you polishing yours up, I said no I like it this way, I prefer the authenticity over 100% new look.
I respect the work and investment (time and especially financial) these chaps have put in, tremendously. But as you say, I prefer vehicles which have been left in their original condition - provided of course they were still roadworthy when restoration began. I am sure some chaps would love for their vehicles to look “used” but the condition in which they found them was simply too bad.
That is one of the (many) things I liked about my 142 when I first saw her in 2011 (and decided right there and then that I would buy it) she had never been done up and better still, didn’t need any doing up in the first place. Just a few signs of work but that’s it. She had been retired in a heated shed in 1994 at 155’000 kms (total), and 17 years later I bought her up like that. All I did was erase and respray the previous owners’ name + number, the chassis is grey and the cab is white, no fancy decoration or anything like that.
Bonne soirée
David
Morning all, these posts do get my "little grey cells "going…
Steve, your pictures of CAT transporters. CAT, (Compigne d`affretment et des Transport), was founded in 1957, by the Regie Renault, just after the creation of Saviem. The company was created to handle all the distribution of Renault built vehicles, components, machinery, and associated equipment World wide.
By the mid 70s CAT employed over 1000 staff, and was working in 160 countries as well as France. When Oyak-Renault was created in Bursa Turkey, CAT organised the movement of over 1000tonnes of Press tools to the new plant. The physical work was subcontracted to the iconic French Heavy Haulage firm, Disserier H Zucchoni. The convoy travelled Ro Ro, Marseille to Mudayna Turkey,then by (difficult) road to Bursa. The convoy included five TRH 6x4 tractors.
CAT also ran the trains that you would have seen at Blainville…memories eh!
Cheerio for now.
Steve, you are a winner…and thats for sure!!
Dear old Banko North Inc, Scranton P A, I think the offices were , 1000 Remmington Ave,Scranton. Handled an enormous range of Beers, (including Amstel Gold, and of all the things to export to the US, Carling Black Label)!!!
When I used to visit them, I used to stay at a nice Motel in Exeter, (PA, about 8miles out, but a lot quieter,…less Police sirens)!!
They liked their Midliners, and I liked them, nice people, but a big Alcohol Distribution business, Whisky, Spirits, and more Beers than you could imagine!
Thanks for the memory,
Cheerio for now.
Steve
neversweat1:
10
Steve
Steve, you are at it again, !!! a 19tonne PS30, must be a stretched tractor.
SM with the famous Drouin Brothers, what a super company, where I first drove a (very worn), Bernard " Television" with a licence built Gardner “185”. Much to the great amusement of the one Brother, who just could not understand my enthusiasm for “their” yard shunter. A really big company, in all respects, now sadly long gone!
Thanks for the memory,
Cheerio for now.
Steve
Last week ,I met a man who worked for a Saviem dealer in Chaumont (east of France) and he told me about the PS 30 with Rolls-Royce experience.
He said none did more than 400000 Kms without problems and the experience failed.
Perhaps “Saviem” knows a lot about this story …
michel:
Last week ,I met a man who worked for a Saviem dealer in Chaumont (east of France) and he told me about the PS 30 with Rolls-Royce experience.
He said none did more than 400000 Kms without problems and the experience failed.
Perhaps “Saviem” knows a lot about this story …
Evening all, well its going to get noisy around here…the V Festival has just started, total paralysis of the road network, chaos for getting Wheat over the A5, or the A41, let alone getting it back out on lorries…what B…y chaos…and the music that travels down the valley to the farm is Awfuuuuuul, …music, they do not even comprehend the word! My Hens will stop laying again!
michel, now you pose me a question!
I knew the Dealership in question very well, Chaumont Poides Lourdes, Route de Langress 5200, Chaumont. Good concession, and very active in “heavy” sales. In fact in 1977, they became part of the Saviem 30 club, (an award for Dealers who held a minimum 30% margin of registrations in “their” area of Franchise. Marcel Desnouveaux received the award from M Danton, Commercial Director for Saviem, and M Grobb, Joint Director General of Renault Vehicules Industriels, for achieving 31.7% of the local registrations for the “Gamme Lourde” Saviems, 15/38 tonnes.
The PS 30 was only ever available in two models, both tractors. Both powered by the R6T 12 litre MAN diesel @ 310hp SAE, or 280 HP DIN. Both had the double reduction P1332 Saviem axle, but one had the Saviem Synchromesh GV350 10 speed gearbox, and the other the St Nazaire built RTOO9513 13 speed Fuller, (guess which one was the better to drive)!
The Rolls Royce Engined Saviem was a “one off”. Created by Rolls Royce of Shrewsbury to try to gain access to the French lorry market as a "loose engine " supplier. Rolls Royce purchased direct from Saviem a chassis cab SM 340, less engine and gearbox, but complete with the hub reduction axle, (Onatra specification). This was fitted with an Eagle 12 litre engine @305 hp DIN, coupled to a Manchester built Fuller 9509A range change gearbox. It was a very well engineered conversion, and having done around 25000kms on test with Rolls Royce`s Scammell test trailer @32tons, was shipped to Blainville for “approval”, by our engineers, before commencing a series of extended tests with some of “our” major clients. Really the idea was to provide an alternative, lighter, and potentially more powerful option to the MAN series, which possesed more "High Torque Rise " characteristics than the MAN, to counter Berliets Maxi- Couple designs. And saved around 750kg nett weight on the existing SM340 tractor.
The “tests” were to be controlled by our regional fleet departments within the DCR, (Direction Commercial de la Region) organisations. These were direct Saviem authorities who controlled the marketing, sales, and after sales activities within “their” region. There were eleven in total, based in, Bordeaux, Dijon, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Paris, Toulouse, Rennes, Tours, and Rouen. I cannot remember which DCR controlled the activity of Chaumont Poides Lourdes, but I have a feeling that it was M Fouquets, Nancy, 109 Rue d Haussonville operation. Nancy was a very active DCR, having 9 heavy franchisees, 3 Savifrance outlets, and one direct retail operation, called a “Succersalle”.
A very interesting market area, comprising the bulk of Alsace/Loraine, with borders to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1977 Saviem held around 24% of the “heavy” market, 15/38 tonnes, Berliet 26%, Mercedes 14%, Volvo 6%, Scania 2.5% Magirus, and DAF having a similar share, the balance being made up of other marques, Unic, Henschell, MAN etc.
The Rolls Saviem had an extended period with my clients Tpts Onatra, also with Druin Freres, Calberson, Bourgey Montreuil , and was scheduled to go to the Nancy based Tpts Mayer, a major Saviem client, whose Heavy haulage operation ran an extensive fleet of Saviem, Berliet, 100tonnes plus, and Willeme 200tonnes plus vehicles. I recall their fleet was around 200 units, and their trailer parc included all types from WW11 US built Rogers, to state of the art Nicolas modular axle sets!
This demonstration was “pulled”, on instructions from the “top”, via the DCR. …two months later Berliet announced a major order from Tpts Mayer for TR 305, and 6x4 356s! And thereby stands the reason for the failure of the Rolls Royce engined Saviem project. The 1975 merger of Saviem, and Berliet commenced with both marques remaining seperate. Even as late as 1978 Paris show we had seperate stands, and seperate models, (but in Geneva we had Berliet as the “heavies”, and Saviem as the lighter end)
The Rolls Royce engined 340 was a success wherever it ran, but the future with RVI was the Berliet designs for the heavy range.!Yet the positive outcome for Rolls Royce was that when Leyland France under Roger Doughty entered the French market, the reputation of Rolls Royce as a diesel engine was strong. Many doors were open to them, and it was only the acquisition by DAF of Leyland that ended the upward spiral of market share. DAF needed France for DAF, …no other.
So what happened to that SM340…I really do not know. Was she sold via one of our Dealers, or was she broken up?
michel, to answer your question, I think that your contact may be mistaken, to my knowledge no PS30 was ever fitted with a Rolls Royce diesel. Perhaps one could have been “retro fitted”, that is a possibility, (for a long time I thought that ■■■■■■■ 335s must have been an option on Berliet GBO, and TBOs, before I realised that they were retro fittings )! And after the PS came the PX, really a Berliet with a Saviem badge. And as for only 400000kms, well in the UK they ran for much longer, and also in France, for instance Tpts Giraud.
michel, you have “taxed” my little grey cells, I`m away for a large Bollinger, then bed…and hope that we do not get rain tommorow,for the Wheat “was” cutting well!!
Cheerio for now.
Many thanks for the answer, perhaps it was a mistake about the SM or PS.I know Mrs Desnouveaux is always alive and I could ask her.
Your memory is excellent and I send some photos of Mayer lorries on the Berliet and Willeme posts.
michel:
Many thanks for the answer, perhaps it was a mistake about the SM or PS.I know Mrs Desnouveaux is always alive and I could ask her.Your memory is excellent and I send some photos of Mayer lorries on the Berliet and Willeme posts.
Well michel your photographs on the Berliet, Willeme, and now Saviem threads have taken me back to some enjoyable times in Nancy!
Interesting lorry 70 74 QX 54, fleet number 80.3. A 1970 SM 300 V8 6x4, first into service 1973. Ran at 120/150 tonnes, and if I remember correctly was purchased to replace a WW11 Pacific “Dragon Wagon”. Most of Tpts Mayers Saviems were 4x2s for “normal” 35/38 tonne work but they had some examples of the 6x4s for Heavy Haulage 5th wheel work. Most were SM300 V8s, but they did purchase a number of the later SM340 V8s 6x4s, mainly for 5th wheel and “Dolly” work, ie, Bridge beams etc. I seem to remember that Jacques Mayer also purchased a small number of PS30s , which were utilised on the General Haulage work with the “new” Curtain sided trailers! And they were UK s Gerald Broadbents “BoAlloy” design.
One “odd ball” Saviem that Tpts Mayer ran was a 6x4 SM 280 TUVT, designed for 65/120 tonne operation with the Turbo 6 cylinder engine. But really their allegiance had switched to Berliet, as had “our”, (as Renault Vehicules Industriels), emphasis towards Berliet designs as the Tractor/ Heavy range, post 1978.
Mayer stayed with Renault/ Berliet designs up until I believe they became part of the enterprise Keppi/ MKTS Stockalliance Group in the 90s. But by then I was long gone from France, but have many happy, and enjoyable memories indeed, of Tpts Mayer.
Thank you michel for more stimulation to my “little grey cells”!!
Cheerio for now.
Is that the same one that got totalled in Italy ?
Alinfrance:
Stralisnumerouno:
before finally giving it up for the F12The F12 in action queue on Mont Cenis
And yes is was brand new and came from Volvo at Kirby
